Tim Lovejoy - Red-hot Rooney can fire England to glory

To win a World Cup you need a special player, and there's no doubt England's has arrived in the shape of Wayne Rooney.

Everybody talks about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but Rooney has to be up there with them right now, if not better. If Ronaldo is worth £80 million, then Rooney is surely in line to become the game's first £100m man.

That's if United sell him of course.

Rooney has true grit and determination to go alongside his fantastic technical ability. He's the top scorer in the Premier League this season and he's on fire.

There was lot of talk about England's team in the late 00s being blessed by the 'golden generation', but I'm starting to think it was a little premature. This is our time.

I've never been more confident of England's chances at the World Cup than I am now. Our playing squad is strong, we've got a great manager and we've got the best player on the planet leading the line.

With 133 days, 11 hours, 32 minutes and 52 seconds to go(at the time of writing this), England have real reason for optimism in South Africa.

CARLING CUP RUNNETH OVER

A few seasons ago the league cup (then the Worthington cup) was dubbed the 'worthless cup' and deemed a laughing stock by many in the game.

But the semi-final between United and City demonstrated just how exciting the competition has become, and how important winning it is to the biggest clubs in the land.

Sir Alex Ferguson had already seen his side lose to Leeds in the FA Cup, and was not about to go out of the Carling Cup to another of his fiercest rivals.

You could see by the team he put out, and the attitude of his players on the pitch, that victory meant everything to United.

With the Carling Cup final being in February it offers a great moral boost to the winning side. Aston Villa like to attack and we can expect a cracking encounter at Wembley.

PREMIER LEAGUE MALAISE

The relative inactivity in this January transfer window is not a good sign for the Premier League.

It seems the two highest profile deals have involved Sol Campbell and Patrick Vieira, which seems to suggest we're on our way back to being the graveyard of football again. More proof is Eidur Gudjohnsen moving back from Spain to sign for Spurs this week .

Not even Chelsea or Manchester City have spent big money, and it's impossible to escape talk about the looming financial crisis in the domestic game.

You'd have to say Serie A is back on top as the premier league in Europe.

MOURINHO MIRACLE

Here's a remarkable stat for you. After steering his Inter Milan side to victory of city rivals AC, Jose Mourinho has now not lost a home league match for seven years and 11 months - that's a run of 110 games unbeaten at home with Porto, Chelsea and Inter.

Tim Lovejoy rose to fame as the genial co-host of Soccer AM,
deploying his sharp wit and extensive football knowledge alongside Helen Chamberlain when the show launched in 1996.
A Saturday audience of millions tuned in, and Lovejoy fast became a household name.
After leaving Sky in 2007, Lovejoy is now a regular presenter at BBC Radio 5 Live,
and co-hosts the popular Friday night show, ‘Murray and Lovejoy’s Sports Express’ with Colin Murray.
He can also be found hosting BBC Two's Sunday magazine show, 'Something for the Weekend'.